This invention relates to an archery bow accessory, and particularly to an accessory for supporting and guiding an arrow during the arrow-launching process.
Some arrow guidance mechanisms have been used on archery bows. U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,925, issued to Robert R. Barrick, shows an arrow launch assembly that includes a hand grip connected to an elongated tubular element that is slidably supported in an arrow rest member. The arrow is supported at two spaced points, near the handgrip and on the arrow rest member. Due to the construction of the rest member, the arrow has no lateral guidance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,645, issued to William M. Damron, shows an arrow support structure, wherein the arrow is located within a hollow tubular guide tube. The tube is slotted to permit passage of the bowstring during the arrow launch process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,974, issued to Jeffrey R. Anderson, shows an arrow support mechanism that includes an arrow launch tube guided for linear motion by means of support rollers carried by the riser portion of the archery bow. The launch tube is designed for use with relatively short, non-standard, arrows.
Many of the prior art devices used for support and/or guidance of an arrow during the arrow launch process require special archery bow constructions or bow modifications. The present invention relates to an accessory for supporting and guiding a conventional arrow during the arrow-launch process, wherein the accessory can be mounted on a standard archery bow, without modification or reconstruction of the bow.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the accessory includes a linear guide mechanism mountable on a conventional archery bow in the space above the conventional arrow rest. Two parallel cylindrical arrow support members are slidable in the linear guide mechanism for retracting motion in response to a manual pull on the bowstring. The rear ends of the cylindrical arrow support members connect with a bridge that is adapted to span the space behind the bowstring, to provide the force for moving the cylindrical arrow support members.
The arrow is retained on the arrow support members by means of two resilient wands that extend forwardly from the bridge for exerting a light frictional grip on the arrow at points spaced forwardly from the bridge.
The above-mentioned wands and arrow support members are circumferentially arranged around the arrow shaft axis so that the arrow is contacted at four circumferentially spaced points or zones. The arrow is prevented from lateral dislocations, such that during the arrow launch process the arrow travels accurately along the intended flight path. The resilient wands exert minimal frictional forces on the arrow surface, so as not to impede the arrow launch velocity.
A significant advantage of the resilient wands is that they frictionally retain the arrow in the launch position on the archery bow, even though the archer might manipulate the bow into various positions in which the arrow might otherwise disengage from the bow (or bowstring). The archer can walk, climb, sit or move the archery bow without dislodging the arrow from the launch position. When a target is sighted, the archer can raise the bow into a firing position without having to fit an arrow to the bowstring.
Specific features of the invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.